


Great Spirits

by alphera



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: AU, Gen, Mentions of abuse/captivity/slavery by Shaw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-30
Updated: 2012-07-30
Packaged: 2017-11-11 01:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/473165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphera/pseuds/alphera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt: (Charles Belonging to Shaw) "AU. Someway, somehow Shaw found Charles when he was much younger and he's had him by his side ever since (think Charles in Emma's place). Charles is a bit broken (he experienced first hands the violence and depravity of others) but deep inside he's still the Charles we all know. Cue Erik finding Shaw while on his quest to kill him and when he sees the quiet man by Shaw's side, his interest is piqued and he knows he has to have him by his side "to fill the gap" that he didn't even know he had in his life!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Erik

**_i._**  
There is a voice in his head, and Erik wonders if this means he’s finally gone insane. _‘Get up, Erik,’_ it says, _‘please. I can’t hold on to everyone for much longer. Get UP.’_ Erik shoots up quickly on his dingy little cot at the loud shout echoing in his brain, and looks around to see his door open, the guards outside unmoving, eyes glazed. _‘Go on, then. Please hurry!’_  
  
Erik knows it is probably not wise to listen to voices in one’s head, but he is driven by fear and desperation – and nothing that can happen can possibly be worse than what he has already had to endure in this tiny cell. So he runs and follows the directions the voice gives him. Soon, miraculously, he is outside the camp. Not safe exactly, not yet. There are miles to be travelled before he is safe, but right now he has a _chance_ , something he has never had inside the thick wood and glass of his prison.  
  
He has escaped, and one day he will be _free_.  
  
  
 ** _ii._**  
Erik manages to flee from danger, and when the Nazis fall, he returns to Poland to seek his revenge. After all, his body may be free to roam, but his spirit will never rest until he strikes at his mother’s killer. By a stroke of luck, he sees the doctor on the streets, and he moves to follow his torturer. But before he can even reach the grounds of the building Schmidt has entered, his mind becomes hazy, and he feels the sudden compulsion to turn back.  
  
Hours later, Erik wakes in the abandoned house he has been hiding in with no notion of how he got there. All he remembers is a dream, where his mother was alive and singing to him.  
  
When Erik returns to where Schmidt had been, he finds the building empty. But as he leaves, he finds a note on a table by the door. _‘Be patient,’_ it reads, _‘you are not ready.’_ And in smaller, shakier hand at the bottom, it says _‘Take care,’_ and an even smaller _‘you are not alone.’_  
  
The sheet of paper joins the coin in his pocket, and Erik takes care to keep both with him. “I will,” he says, as loudly as he dares. “I’ll take care. And one day, I’ll be strong and ready.” He knows that it must just be his imagination, but he can't help but take comfort in the warmth that curls around him and the faint _‘thank you’_ that seems to echo everywhere.  
  
  
 _ **iii.**_  
It takes about two decades before Erik finds Schmidt again. Before he can make metal collapse around Schmidt, he sees a man, just about his age, turn to him, and he stops moving. _‘Go on,’_ he hears in his head, _‘I’ll stall them. Hurry though, before Emma cottons on.’_  
  
And he does. He remembers that voice when they were both much younger, leading him to safety. Remembers the brush of that mind against his, saving him from killing himself pursuing something he had not yet enough power to do. He remembers the note he has left safely with his belongings, and knows that that voice would never lead him astray. The boat collapses, and he feels a flicker of doubt. Schmidt and his cohorts may deserve death, but what of the boy – no, the man – who has done nothing but help. He should have expected it, but the voice still startles him when he hears it. _‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.’_  
  
But that brief hesitation is enough. He feels a flare of alarm not his own, and, with his power, notices a large chunk of metal separate from the rest and propel itself forward. Rage consumes him, and he struggles to call it towards him. He is _so close_ to his goal. He will finish what he has set out to do, even if it kills him.  
  
  
 _ **iv.**_  
He gets dragged into the water, and tears try to force themselves out of his eyes when he starts getting pulled deeper and deeper. Suddenly, the voice returns and pleads with him to let go _‘LetgoletgoletGOyou’llDIEyouTOLDMEYOU’DTAKECARE.’_ And then there is a body behind him, and a voice in his ear echoing the one in his head. “Let go, Erik. Let go. Live today to fight tomorrow. Be patient.”  
  
Erik lets go and passes out.  
  
When he awakes there are three people hovering around him. A military doctor, who starts checking his vitals, and two women. “Where’s the man who saved me?” He asks, eyes narrowing. The two women look at each other, and the blonde is the first to turn back to him.  
  
“Charles isn’t here.”  
  
Erik feels an odd twinge of happiness at finally knowing the man’s name, but forces himself to focus when he realises the implications of that answer.  
  
“What happened to him? Is he hurt?"  
“No, he’s in the submarine that escaped.”  
“How? He was right behind me when we were being pulled up!”  
“It’s complicated?”  
“Complicated? You mean impossi—“  
  
The dark haired woman sighs, and interrupts. “Maybe you should just show him, Raven.”  
  
The blonde pauses, and looks at Erik intently. “Charles trusts you…” she says, trailing off, “so I’ll trust you with this.” As she finishes her statement, she warps before Erik’s very eyes. In front of him is the image of the man on the deck, the man Erik thought pulled him up from the water. Raven stays in that form for a few seconds before turning back. Erik remembers the note he keeps in his suitcase with his bar of raubgold. _‘You are not alone.’_  
  
“So. Charles said you can help us.”  
  
  
 _ **v.**_  
Erik walks down the halls with purpose, shoving away everyone who tries to get in his way, Raven’s words replay in his mind. _‘His name is Charles Xavier. He’s my brother, and maybe the strongest telepath in this world.’_ A soldier foolishly attempts to get back up after Erik pushes him down, and Erik summons a gun to shoot him. _‘Shaw took him from us when we were young. When Charles managed to contact me before, he told me that Shaw never trusts him to go anywhere alone, and the only time he’s left alone is for punishment.’_  
  
He is past the corridors, and is two rooms away from his current goal. He feels a sense of satisfaction when the men in the first one – mere administrators, not a fighting bone in their body – scurry away. Erik knows they won’t interfere, but throws them to the walls anyway. _‘And when no one can watch him, or when he’s being punished, they lock him in a little room, with special walls that keep him from being able to touch anyone’s mind.’_  
  
The door to the second room is thick and heavy – but, indisputably, metal. Erik holds out his arm and crushes it. He has never had to exert so little effort to use his powers before, and Erik knows he will only become stronger.  
  
Erik feels the man before he sees him. There is relief and affection curling around him, and something else Erik can’t name.  
  
“Come for me, have you?” Charles asks, lips quirking up. It’s the first time Erik’s seen the man so clearly, the first time he’d seen the man smile, and the first time he’d heard the man’s real voice outside his own head. Erik can’t stop his lips from forming an answering smile.  
  
“Just come to return the favour.” He answers, walking towards Charles.  
  
Erik holds out a hand, and Charles grasps it firmly.  
  
“Let’s give him hell,” Charles says, and Erik is certain that from that moment on, nothing can stop them.


	2. Charles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A giant thank you to [kaitlia777](http://kaitlia777.livejournal.com) for keeping me sane when I was panicking like a headless chicken, for looking through this for me and providing an external deadline, and of course, the title.

_**o.**_  
Charles is not alone. When he was younger he met a little girl – Raven, his sister, who could change her skin as easily as Charles could penetrate minds. Charles closes his eyes, and remembers this. It is dark, and he is in a truck that is moving. There is only one man in the truck with him – the driver in front. He feels Raven and mother and father become farther and farther away, but Charles has to remember – he will never be alone. Even if it takes days or months or even years – one day he will find them again.  
  
All he can do now is remember them, his family, and how at least he’s still kept his promise to Raven. Even without Charles, Raven would never again have to live hungry and alone. Mother and father and Raven will still have each other.  
  
  
 _ **i.**_  
It takes days, but finally Charles is brought to a little cell in a compound. Charles stretches his mind around him, looking for weaknesses, for possibilities. Instead, he is surprised to find another young boy only three rooms away. That first night, he ignores the minds of the guards and concentrates on that kindred spirit. Even here, it seems Charles is still not alone.  
  
The boy is crying, and Charles cannot understand the words the boy is repeating in his mind. So Charles turns to one of the nearer minds and _pushes._ When he was much younger, he learned to read cursive by looking at his mother’s mind. If he could do that then maybe, just maybe – he could learn this rough language everyone around him uses. It seems to take ages, but finally Charles finds it – and it’s as if everything clicks into place. Suddenly, the incomprehensible sounds from all around him form words. The wooly haze over the exhaustion, the guilt and the sick joy he hears in everyone lifts. The unhappiness that has been thrumming around him is suddenly thrown into sharp clarity, and Charles feels afraid.  
  
Quickly, Charles looks for the boy and sidles in, but in this mind there seems to be even less joy. There is pain and hopelessness and _loss_ so great that Charles feels his heart become heavy. And yet… he does not leave. So he stays, and listens, and sleeps. That night he dreams of gunshots and struggles and the pinprick of needles. He feels the slice of sharp scalpels into tender skin. And all throughout the night he hears the shouts of “Mama!” echoing and echoing around him.  
  
  
 _ **ii.**_  
The first thing Dr. Schmidt tells Charles is “so, little boy, what am I thinking?” And when Charles refuses to answer, says “if you don’t tell me, then I might just have to steal the little girl too.” The last words are barely out of Shaw’s mouth before Charles takes a look. Shaw’s mind feels dirty, but if he does not look and speak they will take Raven. They have no idea that Raven is special – but if they steal her away, they will find out – and what will happen to her then?  
  
“You’re happy,” Charles can hear himself saying, “because even if the Jewish boy fails, you will at least have me.”  
  
Shaw claps his hands. “See? I can already tell that you’ll be much better at all this than him. You can look into my mind, and you’ve already learned German. With just my words, you know? No need for dramatic actions with you. I’m still trying to break him in, of course. He can still be useful. But yes, you _are_ correct. If I don’t break him, I’ll still have you.”  
  
Three days later, Charles helps Erik escape. Charles is punished for it greatly. The torturers’ minds are too strong for him to influence. It is not like at home when the slightest thought could make cook serve cookies instead of cake, and besides, he is so very exhausted from the rescue. He hopes Erik has the sense not to return, even if Charles could feel the steady build of anger bubbling in Erik's mind. Charles doesn’t know if he'll be able to help again.  
  
…Even so, months later, when he feels Erik following them, Charles doesn’t hesitate to reach out and make the boy turn back. Even if he is caught, it doesn’t matter. No one should have to endure Schmidt. Schmidt leaves their temporary headquarters earlier than Charles and half the guards, confident that Charles would not dare run away. “I like you, little boy,” Schmidt says as he leaves, “because threats work on you.” Charles knows this to be true.  
  
But Charles will never stop his little acts of rebellion, and will never stop planning for a big one. He can feel Erik slowly stirring awake, and makes the guards leave him a pen and a piece of paper, and makes them march ahead of him. On it, he writes a warning. _‘Be patient. You are not ready.’_ And then Charles remembers the pain and the loss and the loneliness he had felt in Erik’s mind, and adds: _‘Take care.’_ Charles wonders what can make Erik feel better, what can make Erik have hope. What will inspire Erik to be careful and to be patient, to think of his life beyond revenge. So, before he leaves, he writes down _‘you are not alone,’_ because if that has been enough for Charles all this time, maybe it will be enough for Erik.  
  
  
 _ **iii.**_  
 _Raven._ The rush of relief at seeing his sister alive and well is almost as strong as his fear for her safety. The Hellfire Club is the most dangerous place on earth for Raven, Charles knows this. And yet, he cannot stop looking at her, cannot stop himself from touching her mind.  
  
Even after years without contact, Raven recognizes him instantly. She turns to face him and makes her way toward him. _‘No,’_ Charles sends out. _‘It’s too dangerous, Raven!’_ He can feel the dissatisfaction radiate from his sister, and tightens his shield around her. Raven doesn’t want to stop, but she understands the danger. When Raven stops moving, Charles frantically casts his mind around for even the slightest trace of suspicion. He would allow nothing to hurt Raven.  
  
Charles does find suspicion – but not towards them. He turns to look at the woman entering the club. A spy. She knows absolutely nothing of Shaw’s true self, but she knows the man Shaw is meeting tonight. Charles hides her from Emma, and gives her a little hint on how to find Shaw. He sends Raven an image of the spy.  
  
 _‘Wait outside and get dressed. Wait for that woman to come out. Follow her. Tell her you have information on Sebastian Shaw. I guarantee you, she will listen, and she will be able to help.’_  
  
Charles hides their presences carefully, and watches over their meeting. He couldn’t be more proud of Raven – she makes the spy listen to her even without Charles implanting any suggestions in the spy's mind.  
  
  
 _ **iv.**_  
Charles is surprised to feel Erik’s presence nearby. Awareness of the people around him is a habit he has never been able to break – if there is one thing working for Shaw teaches you, it is to be cautious. It takes a while, but finally Charles catches sight of Erik – he is in a wetsuit in the water, preparing to attack. Charles wraps a barrier around Erik’s mind. Emma is far less careful and frankly less powerful, but soon enough she will be able to sense the sheer _intent_ Erik is projecting.  
  
Erik is finally strong enough to fight Shaw with a little help, and Charles feels hope flare in his chest. It's always been difficult to constantly believe that one day he’d be able to break his bonds, but now – he _knows_ it is actually possible. Once Erik starts, Charles has to lighten his protection a little. Emma may be less careful in general, but even she will be suspicious if she cannot even touch Erik’s mind. It will be a delicate process – making it seem like he isn’t helping Erik – but he has to try.  
  
Erik comes closer, and sees Charles. His pause before acting warms Charles a little. It feels nice to be remembered. _‘Go on,’_ Charles says. _‘I’ll stall them. Hurry though, before Emma cottons on.’_  
  
And Erik does. Charles struggles with helping Erik. He has had little practise easing other people’s access to their own unique abilities, and doing so while fortifying Erik’s mind from attacks makes it even more difficult. He feels Erik’s flash of worry for him, and Charles brushes it off. Erik’s success is what matters most. Unfortunately, that millisecond of distraction is enough. The submarine begins to move, and either through design or sheer luck the walls seem to make it more difficult to reach Erik. His grip on Erik’s mind is slipping, and Charles knows that if that happens, Erik won’t be able to drag the submarine out of the water; instead, it will drag Erik in.  
  
Charles puts his fingers on his temple so he can concentrate, and his companions look at him in suspicion.  
  
“Charles! What are you doing!” Emma hisses.  
“He may stop us yet. I can convince him to stop pulling us.”  
  
They believe him, but Charles still cannot boost Erik's strength enough, and the man is stubborn and will not let go. He can feel Erik’s struggle and the water threatening to close in on the man, and Charles panics. He reaches out to Raven, in the government ship he knows has been watching them, and begs her to help. He knows Emma can feel it, and he feels Emma trying to dig in his mind in suspicion. He cannot hold on for much longer; soon, Emma will decide his blocking his mind is enough proof of his treachery, and will simply knock him unconscious. There is little time, and he begs Raven to hurry almost as fervently as he begs Erik to stop. Finally, finally, Raven is there, in the water, and Charles is careful to have Raven say the words exactly as he says it in Erik’s mind. _‘Let go, Erik. Let go. Live today to fight tomorrow. Be patient.’_  
  
And then Erik is safe, and pain blooms in the back of Charles’ head.  
  
  
 ** _v._**  
Charles feels so very alone. There are no sounds, no thoughts, no feelings. There are no minds to touch all around him. But no, he cannot think that. If he starts to believe this, Shaw will win. Beyond this room are people – both like and unlike him. He is not alone. Outside this room, there is Raven and Erik and people he has yet to meet. Brilliant minds full of light and joy.  
  
He does not know how many hours, days, weeks he has been here. All he knows is the _nothingness_ around him. But one day he hears a noise – faint, but unmistakable. There is fighting outside. Charles lets himself hope. He sheds his pain and his loneliness, and is ready to reach out at the smallest crack in the cell’s defences. There are only so few people confident and powerful enough to get inside, and Charles is sure, even if he cannot feel it with his mind yet, that it is Erik, or Raven, or both.  
  
Soon, the door begins to collapse, and Charles can feel Erik. Once again, he gives the other man a nudge. There is so much potential Erik has yet to tap into. The door crushes into itself as if it were paper. Charles lets the rush of relief and affection and _everything_ wrap around him, uncaring if Erik feels it.  
  
“Come for me, have you?” Charles says.  
“Just come to return the favour.” Erik answers, coming closer. Erik holds out his hand, and Charles grasps it firmly.  
“Let’s give him hell,” Charles says. He is free, Erik beside him and Raven waiting outside. Now that they are together, Charles knows Shaw will no longer be a threat. He is not alone, and will never be alone any longer. None of them will.  
  
Today, as they walk out of a ravaged military compound, he knows that they will be unstoppable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, Charles both met Raven and was taken from his family before his father died.


	3. Raven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would not exist without [rougewinter](http://archiveofourown.org/users/rougewinter), who prodded me to finish this.

**_o._**  
She chooses the large mansion because the lights in the kitchen and the surrounding rooms are always out at night. Even so, when she sneaks in, her hands are shaking in fear. This is the first time she’s ever snuck in anywhere, and she is so very afraid of getting caught. So when she hears the footsteps drawing near and sees the light in the hallway switch on, she panics and changes into the form easiest for her to turn into, the only one roughly her size – the form of the little boy.  
  
It is the best mistake Raven has ever made.  
  
The little boy comes in, sees her, and _smiles_. “Wow!” he says, and walks toward Raven. She freezes as he pokes and prods her, lifting her arm and tilting her head this way and that. “Can you do other people too?” he asks, and this startles Raven into shifting back into her real form. Charles steps back, surprised, and Raven feels the hope that started to blossom collapse. She shoves the little boy away and starts to run.  
  
 _‘WAIT!’_ Charles yells, and Raven does. Because strangely, it seemed as if the voice was coming from her own head. She turns back, and Charles is standing in the kitchen, hand held out before him.  
  
 _‘I’m sorry, I’m not scared. I just thought you’d be a boy too, since you made yourself look like me.’_ he says sheepishly, mouth not moving. _’I didn’t know there were other Special People too. I thought I was alone.’_  
  
Raven takes a step closer. “I thought I was too.”  
  
“Well then, seems we were both wrong.”  
  
  
 ** _i._**  
Raven’s life feels like heaven. Charles calls her his sister, and so Raven copies his eyes and his complexion. She keeps her own hair until Charles tells her about his Nana, who had the nicest golden hair, and Raven decides to have that instead. Charles plays with her and shares his food with her. He lets her have toys she likes and tells the helpers to take care of her, too. For the first time she can remember, she feels safe. She knows Charles will never let anyone take her away, knows that all Charles needs to do is talk to people and they won’t – can’t – hurt her.  
  
But one day, Charles’ dad sees her, and Charles can’t make him listen. Charles doesn’t even think of leaving her. When Mr. Xavier makes Raven go, Charles packs a bag and sneaks out with her. “Raven,” he says, “I promise you. You will never be alone ever again.”  
  
They are out for two days when they are found and taken back. When they are brought to the study, Mr. Xavier is pacing back and forth and Mrs. Xavier is crying on an armchair. As soon as she sees them she stands and tries to pull Charles towards her, but Charles clings to Raven and refuses to let go. Mrs. Xavier bursts into a fresh round of sobs, and Mr. Xavier purses his lips unhappily.  
  
“Charles, we can’t just keep her because you want a playmate. She’s a child, not a puppy,” he says, at last.  
  
Charles lifts his chin and looks his father straight in the eye. “I know she’s a person. That’s why we should let her stay.”  
  
“It’s not that easy, Charles. What about her family?”  
  
Raven chokes and grips Charles’ arms tightly. “I don’t have anyone,” she says, quietly.  
  
“Social services, then. We can’t just pick her up like a stray!”  
  
Charles shakes his head and glares at his parents. “She’s not a stray! _I’m_ her family!”  
  
There is silence for a long time, and then Mrs. Xavier stands and touches her husband’s arm. “I’ve… I’ve always wanted a little girl, Brian. Why can’t she be our little girl, then? It’ll make me happy. It’ll make _Charles_ happy.”  
  
It doesn’t take very long for Raven Darkholme to officially become Raven Xavier. It is the happiest time of her life  
  
  
 ** _ii._**  
They are out shopping when Charles is taken. Raven is looking at pretty dolls with Mummy when she hears Charles’ panicked voice in her head, asking her if she’s alright. She says that she is, and Charles tells her to stay safe, to stay with Mummy, to hide from the man outside with the strange smile. Raven calls him a silly worrier, and asks Mummy to buy her the prettiest doll in the shop. They buy dresses and dainty little shoes for her many dolls, and when they meet Daddy outside, alone, none of them are very worried. Charles is a big boy, after all, and quite smart. He can take care of himself.  
  
They look for him in his favourite shops, but he is not in any of them. They look at the others, and he is not in any of them either. They ask shopkeepers and passersby and policemen, and no one has seen him since the tailor’s – the shop he was in when Raven was looking at dolls.  
  
Mummy takes Raven home, and Raven refuses to eat or sleep. She waits on the porch for Daddy and Charles, and throws a tantrum and locks herself inside her room when Daddy comes home without her brother. That night, she gathers all her dolls and their little dresses and shoes and stockings, and puts them in a chest she never uses. The next morning she ignores Mummy knocking outside and stays in bed. Every hour Mummy knocks, and it is evening before Mummy decides to use the master key to go in. Raven doesn’t move from her curled up position in her bed.  
  
Mummy lies down beside her and holds her close, telling her Daddy will find Charles. Mummy kisses Raven’s forehead and begs her to eat, to take care of herself, tells her Charles would want her to keep safe. Raven cries and holds onto Mummy, and eats the food the maids bring. They barely leave each other’s sight for the next week, and the next, and the next. Daddy comes home earlier and earlier from his searches, until one day he doesn’t go out to find Charles at all. They continue with their lives. Raven is sent to school but Mummy and Daddy are always there to pick her up. She is not allowed to go out alone, but she understands because her parents are not allowed to do so either. No one says it out loud, but Raven knows her parents have given up.  
  
Raven will never give up. She doesn’t remember much of her life before Charles. What she does remember, however, just makes her want to forget. Before Charles there was only loneliness, hunger, and desperation. Raven’s life is divided neatly into two eras, defined by one person. She owes Charles everything, and so she will never give up on him, even when everyone else has.  
  
  
 ** _iii._**  
The only time Raven thinks of giving up is when Mummy and Daddy die in an accident. She is in school when it happens, and when she finds out she wishes she was with them in the car. Sharon and Brian Xavier were both only children with deceased parents, and the only cousin either of them had died at sea years ago. They had no close friends – after Charles’ disappearance, they chose to spend every spare moment with each other and their daughter. Even Raven has no real friends. Her peers find her preference for her parents’ company odd, and some of them make fun of her determination to find Charles one day. Besides, no one would ever be able to understand her, not like Charles did. None of them know her secret, and she’d never be able to tell them.  
  
Ironically, it is on the day of her parents’ funeral that her drive to find Charles fires up full blast. She is lying in bed staring blankly at the ceiling when she feels a familiar twinge at the back of her mind. Her heart pounds faster, harder. She is so afraid to hope, but equally afraid to _not_ hope.  
  
The tears come quickly when she hears a voice calling for her.  
  
 _‘Raven?’_ Charles asks tentatively. His voice is different, of course, even though he’s speaking inside her mind. It is older, deeper. But Raven knows it’s him. She will always be able to recognize her brother, and even after years apart, the brush of Charles’ mind still instantly makes her feel loved, feel safe.  
  
 _’Charles?’_ She asks back, and she closes her eyes. She can almost feel Charles’ hand brushing against her forehead.  
  
 _’Raven. I’m so glad you’re alright. God, I don’t know what I’d do if you were gone too.’_  
  
 _’Where are you, Charles? Come home. Please. Please come home.’_  
  
 _’I can’t. I’m sorry. I want to. I really want to. But I don’t even know how long I’ll be in range. I’m in the country right now, but… these people… the ones I’m with. They are very, very, dangerous.’_  
  
Raven doesn’t sleep that night. Charles talks to her about Sebastian Shaw and his people, and about their plans to subdue humanity. He tells her how they keep Charles and others like them as pawns in their little plot. He tells her about how closely they watch him, how he can only talk to her when the other telepath is asleep, and only because they haven’t finished building a special room for him in America yet. He tells her how she musn’t look for him on her own, how she should find others to help her first. Raven listens quietly, and the next night, when Charles talks to her again, Raven talks about Mummy and Daddy and even their nanny and the housekeeper. She tells Charles of all the happy times they’ve had, of all the birthdays and Christmases and how much they’ve missed him.  
  
The third day, Charles only has time for a short message. ‘Raven. I only have a minute, we’re leaving soon. I just want to say that I love you, and I miss home, but before anything else, I want you to be _safe_. So please, no matter what, take care of yourself. Don’t try tackling this alone.’  
  
Raven stays awake the fourth night, and the fifth, and the sixth and seventh, but Charles doesn’t come. She goes on with her life, the way Charles wants. But she never once thinks of giving up ever again.  
  
  
 ** _iv._**  
Sneaking around is easy when you can shapeshift. Even so, it takes years for her to track Sebastian Shaw to the Hellfire Club, and it takes months on top of that before she actually sees Shaw or Charles in it. She is frustrated when Charles tells her not to come closer, but she understands. At least this time, instead of just cryptic hints, Charles gives her clear directions. He points her towards Moira MacTaggert, CIA spy. It’s easy to make her listen. Raven overhears Moira’s conversation with her partner about the other mutants in the bar – all it takes to get her attention is to change form.  
  
Things after that are a bit of a blur. She remembers going to a CIA building and meeting Hank, and gathering information on Shaw’s whereabouts. She remembers them going after Shaw’s yacht only to see it crumple into itself, and watching, shocked, as a man tries to pull a submarine out of the water. She remembers hearing Charles begging her to save the man, to save _Erik_. She remembers changing into Charles’ form and jumping in to grab the man in the water. She remembers watching Erik, and remembers hearing Charles’ voice in her head years ago, telling her about the little boy whose mum Shaw killed; remembers Charles talking about the little boy who thought he was alone, like Raven thought she was before Charles.  
  
Raven resents Erik a little, because why should he be safe when Charles isn’t? But her heart softens when she hears the very first words out of his mouth when he regains consciousness. “Where’s the man who saved me?” He asks, eyes narrowing. Raven looks at Moira, who looks steadily back at her.  
  
“Charles isn’t here,” Raven says, and an odd expression crosses Erik’s face before alarm starts to surface.  
  
“What happened to him? Is he hurt?” The man asks, and Raven can’t help but like him. This is a man that matters to Charles, and obviously her brother matters to Erik as well. She can’t help but think that maybe this is the man who can finally help her bring Charles home.  
  
  
 ** _v._**  
Raven stays outside with the rest while Erik charges inside the compound. Unlike him, the rest of them are not immune to bullets. She waits with bated breath for Erik to walk outside with Charles, and when they cross the doorway into the sun, she runs towards her brother and wraps her arms around him. He hugs her back and presses a kiss on her forehead, the way he always does when she cries. She buries her face in his shoulder and can’t seem to let go. She feels Erik hover protectively beside them when the other agents approach.  
  
Afterwards, when she is finally able to pry her arms off Charles, she moves to her brother’s side and hugs his upper arm, resting her chin on his shoulder; just like she did when they were children.  
  
She sees Charles stretch out his other hand, and Erik reaching out to hold it. They walk, together, towards Moira and the others, and Raven feels happier than she has ever had in years. She knows she’ll always be Charles’ little sister, and she’ll never be able to bully Charles into letting someone else keep him safe, but Erik’s here now, and she’s sure Erik can do it.  
  
Charles is coming home now, and she knows both she and Erik can make sure he stays there.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I’m making it so Charles’ dad is alive and his mom never remarries or anything, because I can’t imagine this working out with Kurt and Cain Marko in the picture. >.>
> 
> 2\. The reason Charles’ couldn’t make his dad just accept Raven like the helpers do is because he has a stronger mind, and because with the maids and such, it’s easy to make them think of Raven as Charles’ guest/cousin because they’re used to being told what to do by the family anyway, but Brian Xavier is the head of the household, so he’s the one that *makes* decisions and he sure as hell should know whether or not Charles has a visiting friend or relative. Basically, with the helpers it’s just a nudge to make them overlook the fact that Raven's stay hasn’t been verified by Charles’ dad, but with Brian himself Charles’d need to re-write a few things, which is harder to do.
> 
> 3\. I made Charles’ mom more motherly because I’m working under the assumption that it was her second marriage that broke her.

**Author's Note:**

> Archived from [livejournal](http://alphera.livejournal.com). 
> 
> Many thanks to [kaitlia777](http://kaitlia777.livejournal.com) for the support and the title.
> 
> Title from the quote: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
> 
> [Prompt](http://1stclass-kink.livejournal.com/806.html?thread=225318#t225318) from [1stclass_kink.](http://1stclass-kink.livejournal.com)


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